Summary

Miss Mackel takes her class on a riverboat trip that comes complete with sailor hats for everyone on board. Illustrations.

Author Notes

Suzy Kline was born August 27, 1943 in Berkeley, California. She graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a degree in European History.

She was an elementary school teacher for over 25 years before retiring. While teaching, she wrote over thirty books for children. Her most well-known works include titles in the Horrible Harry, Herbie Jones and Song Lee series.

Ms. Kline now writes full-time and travels to schools and libraries and speak about writing.

Booklist Review

Gr. 2-4. When a classroom discussion of ancestors leads to research on the Titanic, Henry and his classmates become fascinated with ships. Soon their teacher arranges for a field trip aboard a riverboat cruising the Connecticut River. Despite a lost (and later found) earring, a lost (and later found) boy, and a case of seasickness, the voyage ends well. The book's multicultural casting makes for varied and interesting discussions of the children's ancestors and how they crossed the oceans to America. But readers can rest assured that bits of humor keep this beginning chapter book riding high in the water. Children who have read Harry's previous adventures will happily climb aboard just to spend a little time with Harry and his friends. Remkiewicz's cheerful ink drawings heighten the appeal. --Carolyn Phelan

School Library Journal Review

Gr 2-3-When the students in Room 3B share stories and items to describe their ancestors, everyone is curious about Ida's black box. They are even more intrigued when they learn that her great-great-grandmother sailed on the Titanic, and that the box contains mementos of her voyage. Suddenly the whole class takes an interest in ships, and Harry suggests that they take a sea voyage of their own. Miss Mackle arranges for them to travel on a riverboat, and buys them all sailor hats for the outing. On the day of the field trip, everyone is thrilled to be onboard, until suddenly Sidney disappears and Song Lee sees his hat floating in the river. They soon find him by the snack bar, however, and enjoy the rest of the ride. In this 13th book about Harry and his friends at South School, Kline has created a lively, entertaining story filled with fascinating facts about pirates and sailing. Fans of the young protagonist's antics may be disappointed that this book focuses less on him, but they'll still enjoy the class's exploits. Newcomers to the series will have no trouble starting out with this title. A fun, transitional chapter book.-Ashley Larsen, Woodside Library, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.